Listen to the way ESPN play-by-play man Dave Armstrong's tone changes over 30 seconds-the way it morphs from conversational to reverential-and you will begin to understand why more than a million people have gushed watching looping YouTube reels of Devin Hester ever since.
"He's ready at the 35," Armstrong said. "Backs up to his own 30, waits for a block, here he comes again, this time he dances back into trouble-and back out again! Wow! Still on his feet! Are you kidding me? Wow!"
A roar ripped through the crowd of 40,000 spectators at the Orange Bowl Oct. 8, 2005, when Hester was still at his own 30-yard line, seemingly trapped by Duke's punt-blocking unit. By the time he eased up into the end zone after glancing behind him twice, the pandemonium had reached a crescendo.
The Miami fans, though, were cheering for a play that never actually happened. You see, the Chicago Bears' explosive return man's most-viewed return on YouTube was negated by an unnecessary holding penalty. The box score from Miami's 52-7 win shows no Hester touchdowns and offers no peeks into Hester's brilliance that afternoon.
But the memories of the Blue Devils who were torched that day are more reliable.
"It was probably one of the most amazing individual plays I've ever seen," said backup quarterback Zack Asack, who started that day.
"That's Devin Hester," said running back Clifford Harris, who rushed for 19 yards on 10 carries that day. "He's doing the same thing now in the NFL."
Before he was a Pro Bowler who returned Super Bowl XL's opening kickoff for a touchdown, Hester was eluding tacklers and slipping through creases for the Hurricanes, and his punt return against Duke was his magnum opus.
Blue Devil punter Chris Sprague took the snap at Duke's 15-yard line with 3:05 left in the second quarter and Miami leading 24-0. He cleanly let go a 46-yard punt with a hangtime between three and four seconds.
Hester caught the ball at the 29-yard line. He took a hop back before splitting two Duke defenders with a shimmy at the 30.
Six quick steps to the right. Pause. Pivot. Four steps to the left. Halt. Pivot again.
He turns around-his back faces the line of scrimmage-to try again, but he is wrapped up by freshman safety Andreas Platt, who grabs him by the collar. Hester spins with Platt hanging on, his grip gradually sliding down Hester's body until he loses it completely.
Armstrong, the announcer, laughs. Hester is only beginning.
He retreats to the 25, and an empty patch of field down the right sideline beckons. Hester then glides through two more defenders with a quick burst. Sophomore linebacker Brandon Tapps goes for his ankle and misses.
And then the best part-even better than treating a 195-pound safety like a bothersome fly or parting two chasing defenders with one step.
Hester stops, if only for a split second. He looks right. His body is squared like a linebacker's before the snap. He takes inventory: A defender lurks behind, and two more loom to the left.
So Hester bolts right.
Past DeAndre White, past Platt, who gets another piece of his shoulder and past C.J. Woodard, all the way down the right sideline. Hester takes one peek behind his left shoulder-then another-and sees what everyone else has just taken in: everything but the end zone is behind him.
But one of those lagging players is Miami wide receiver Tanard Davis, the Hurricane responsible for Hester's magic being erased from all official records. Davis pushed Sprague from behind at the 28-yard line, even though the Duke punter had absolutely no chance of touching, let alone tackling, Hester.
The official whistled him for holding, and Hester's touchdown was pulled back to the 38.
Since then, the highlight has been archived on YouTube, where it is Hester's most-watched clip-the replay has reached an even wider audience than his Super Bowl return or his 97-yard touchdown sprint to open Miami's rivalry game against Florida in 2005.
Duke's players don't need to rewatch the return to remember Hester's brilliance. Harris said he hasn't replayed it in "a while," but he's in no rush. After all, he has a different perspective than most fans. It's hard for Harris to gape at the highlight when his teammates were the ones looking foolish.
"It was more disappointment than awe," he said. "There were a couple of key mistakes that set the tone, and it was frustrating."
And despite the way the return is remembered even after so many more instances of Hester's acrobatics-in the last week alone, six viewers have left awe-struck remarks below the YouTube video-Hester's own coach doesn't remember the specific play.
"He just had so many great returns," former Miami head coach and current ESPN analyst Larry Coker said. "[The best was] probably the Florida return. He told me, 'Coach, I'm going to take my first return back for a touchdown.' We played a good N.C. State team in Raleigh, and he took a kickoff seven yards deep in the end zone and took it back the distance. I was telling him, 'Stay in, stay in, stay in,' and there he goes for 107 yards. 'Go, go, go,' I guess."
The 2005 Blue Devils would have preferred if Hester had stopped.
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